Vol. 426 No. 6
5 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for the Marine the frequency with which inspectors from his Department had carried out inspections on the sea-ferry Celtic Pride prior to the incident in which two children died; and the defects, if any, which were detected.
The Celtic Pride was inspected in March 1992, by two marine surveyors of my Department prior to the vessel coming into service on the Cork-Swansea route for the 1992 season.
The survey was carried out in accordance with standard practice whereby all ferries operating into and out of Irish ports are inspected at least once a year. Irish registered ferries undergo an annual dry-dock and survey by the marine survey office for the renewal of their passenger and safety certificates. Foreign registered vessels which provide regular services into Irish ports are inspected under the European Port State Control Memorandum of Understanding. This is to ensure compliance with existing international safety convention standards for the construction, equipment and operation of ships.
The inspection of the Celtic Pride identified a number of minor equipment deficiencies which were subsequently rectified by the ferry operators. I have arranged for the list of these defects and the remedial action taken to be circulated to the Deputy.
The Deputy will be aware that there are at present no international regulations governing the design, construction, installation or operation of sewerage systems in the passenger spaces of ships. Examination of the sewerage system was not a requirement for the issue of statutory certificates and did not form part of the inspection of the Celtic Pride prior to the tragic accident in August last year. In October 1992, Ireland urgently requested the International Maritime Organisation IMO to introduce standards in relation to the design and construction of sewerage systems on vessels. The Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO accepted the need for action and referred the matter to a specialist IMO sub-committee on ship design and equipment, which is being attended by the Department's deputy chief surveyor this week.
Following the accident a number of steps were immediately taken at national level to ensure the safe operation of sewerage systems on passenger ferries operating into this country.
The Celtic Pride was taken out of service and the entire sewerage system was inspected and modified to the requirements of the Department. The sewerage systems of all passenger ships on Irish routes were inspected and found to be in good order. The sewerage systems of all such vessels will continue to be examined by the Department of the Marine as part of the annual inspection procedure from now on.
I can assure the Deputy that we will continue to press at the highest level for the introduction of international standards in relation to sewerage systems at the earliest possible date. I have also requested the Minister of State at my Department to attend a meeting with the Secretary General of the IMO tomorrow in London to underline to the Secretary General our concerns in the matter and to stress the need for action to be taken sooner rather than later.
I had been hoping that Question No. 35 would be taken in conjunction with Question No. 5. Do I gather from the Minister that no defect in the sewerage system was discovered in the inspections which took place prior to the incident in question?
That is correct.
Would the Minister say whether any complaints were received by his Department from members of the public regarding defects in the sewerage system prior to the incident in question?
I understand that the log of the ship indicated that there were suggestions of bad smells. Tragically, whilst they were logged, no complaints were made specifically in relation to the sewerage system. There were bad smells but passengers did not sense the danger, and tragically these two Tomlins children died.
We all very deeply regret the accident. I know that bad smells would have been recorded in the ship's log but is there any record in the Department of complaints from the travelling public about poisonous gases or obnoxious odours?
The answer to that question is a categoric "no". I agree that this was a tragic happening. We have already expressed in a motion on the Adjournment our sorrow for the loss to the Tomlins family of their two children. To return to the question of pre-knowledge, while there has been an ongoing problem with foul smells from the sewage system aboard the Celtic Price, as evidenced by passenger complaints, this was regarded as a matter of passenger discomfort and annoyance, and there was a lack of awareness of the possible danger. The Department would not have been aware of such passenger complaints. In September 1992 the Government approved the establishment of a ferry user's forum to deal with passenger complaints about safety matters on ferries in Irish waters. The forum, which represents the ferry company as well as a range of consumer and passenger interests, operates under the aegis of the Department of the Marine.
Let us come to deal with Question No. 6.
